Fall-board and music-desk construction



March 30 1926. 4 l 1,578,317

' T. A. .JOHANSON ET AL FALL BOARD AND MUSIC DESK CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 6. 1923 2 Shams-Sheet 1 March 30 1926. 1,578,317

T. A. JOHANSON ET Al.

FALL BOARD AND Musc DESK CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 6, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Cil Patented Mar. 30, 1925.

7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THUELE JOHANSON AMI) FRANCES C. SCIIT, OF S'. CHARLES, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TQTHE CABLE COMPANY, Ol? CHCAGO, ILLNGIS, A CGRPORATION lDli LLINOIS.

.FALL-BED AND MUSIC-DESK CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed January 6, 1923. Serial No. G1D,990,.

T0 all whom t mag/.oonoernf Be it known that we, TrrUnE A. JOHAN- son and FnANors C.. Soorn, citizens of the United States, residing` at St. Charles, in the county7 of Kane and `iatate of illinois, have invented new` and .usetul Improvements in Fall-Board and Music-Desir Construction, of which .the followingis a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ot this specilication.

This invention relates .to piano .construction, and more particularly to the construction et the piano tall-board and music-deslisupport.

@ne of the objects ot the invention is to providean improved construction in which the tall-board is supported in a manner providing for its easy removal and replacement.

Another object ot' the invention is to provide improved means 'tor .guiding the movement ot the tall-board, which means is designed Vto permit the tree removal and easy replacement ot the tall-board in proper association therewith.

Another object ot the invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement ot the tall-board and ot the niusic-.deslrsupport, through which an inward movement 'of the 'tall-board will move the musicdeslr into its inclined posi-tion and loch it Ain such position.

A `turther object ot the invention. is to provide an improved construction of the tallboard and ot the music-neslr-support which will be durable and etticient in use.

Further objects will appear trom the detailed description to 'follow and from the appended cla-nis.

ln the drawings, in which an embodiment ot the invention is shown- Figure 1 is an elevational view ot the trent ot a piano, parts being;` 'broken away;

Fig. 9. is a vertical tore-and-a'l't section through the forward upper part ot the instrument, with the fall-board in its inward or pushed bach7 position and the musicdesk in its forwardly swung or pushed out position;

Fig. 3 is a view on the same plane as Fig. 2, but showing.,r the fall-board in its forward, hey-covering` vposition and the music-desk in its inward, vertical position;

Fig. 4l is a section on the line lf-4 ot Fig. 1; and

Fig'. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 ot Fig. l.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the construction shown therein comprises a Jfall-board and a music-desk 11, as well as .certain other usual parts of an upright piano, such as the keys 12 and parts or' the casing.

The tall-board 10 comprises forward and rearward sections 13 and 14, respectively, hinged together at 15 and extending horizontally over the keys 12 between the sidearms 16, as shown in Fig. 3. The rearward section A rests and is horizontally slidablc upon guides 17, which are secured upon the side-arms 16, and the forward section 13 may be turned upon 'the hinge 15 trom closed position (Fig. 3) to open position (Fig. 2) so that it lies on top ot the rearward section. It will be observed that, in the closed position ot the tall-board shown in Fig. 3, in which it is drawn forward as far as the stops 12ZL will allow, the hinge is so positioned over the keys 12 that the simple turning ot the section 13 to rest upon the section 1-It would not render the keys properly accessible tor playing. Provision is therefore made tor the pushing,` back ot the folded sections .to a position (shown in Fig. 2') which entirely exposes the key-board, such 'rearward movement of the sections being limited by a pair of stop-pins, one of which is shown at 18, secured to the piano casing and .located in a position to bc engaged by a .corresponding pair of cushion-members 19 secured to project from the rearward tace Aof the vertical board 20, near the opposite ends thereof. The vertical board 20 is secured to, and is n'iovable with, the section 1%-, serving,l as a stitl'lening flange tor said section and constituting a part oft the casing, closing the space between the music-desir 11 and the section l-l when the tall-board is in closed position.

In order to insure the proper parallel movement ot 'the tall-board during the sliding` ot' lsection 14 upon the guides 17, a. roch-shaft 21, having two upstanding parallel arms 22 and 23, is rotatably secured upon a tired part ot the instrument and thel upper end parts ot the two arms are arranged to cooperate with the oppos'te sides or end parts of the section 14. As shown herein, the rock-shaft may be formed of a single, round, horizontally arranged rod having its end parts bent upwardly to form the two arms 22 and 23, the shaft proper being positioned within a groove or recess 24 in the key-bed 25, and retained therein by the cap-blocks 26. The rock-shaft is thus positioned below the upper surface of the key-bed and extends beneath and transversely of the usual removable frame (not shown) which carries the keys 12, the arms 22 and 23 being preferably arranged to project upwardly at points outside of this keyframe, so that no part of the device will interfere with the removal and replacement of the key-franie. While this construction and arrangement of the rock-shaft is Simple, economical, and efficient, it is obvious that it may be otherwise constructed and arranged without necessarily modifying its efficiency. It may be arranged upon, wit-hin, or beneath the key-bed, or suitably secured to the sidearms 16, the length of the arms 22 and 23, the details of their construction, and the method of their firm connection with the rock-shaft being of minor importance. Socket-members 27 and 28 are secured upon the under side of the section 14, near its opposite rearward corners, to removably but securely engage with the upper end parts o f the arms 22 and 23, respectively, and it is therefore obvious that a twisting or racking of the fall-board cannot occur during its sliding movement without twisting the rockshaft 21, which should, o-f course, be strong enough to prevent such occurrence.

In order to secure the fall-board against disarrangement during transportation of the instrument, it has been deemed advisable to arrange a latch 29 (Figs. 4 and 5) which may be adjusted to prevent or permit the removal of the section 14 from the guides 17. The provision of one such latch has been found sufficient, and it is shown pivoted to the rearward end part of socket-member 28, but a second latch may be similarly arranged, if desired, in connection with the other socket-member 27. The latch 29 consists of a simple lever 30, pivoted between its ends at 31 to the socket-ineinber 28, the shorter arm or point of the lever extending beneath the adjacent guide 17 and the longer arm thereof projecting sufficiently for convenient manipulation.

As is usual in modern upright piano construction, the music-desk 11 is formed by swinging or tilting the upper panel of the casing at an angle which will provide a properly arranged backing against which music-sheets or music-books may be rested. The panel is tli-ercfore pivoted to a fixed part of the casing, as at 32, and provision is made for causing it to be automatically swung or tilted to a proper degree through the movement of the fall-board to expose the keys for playing. Devices of the type shown herein for effecting this automatic adjustment of the music-desk are technically known as kickers, but their employment, while quite extensive, has been almost exclusively in connection with fall-boards radically different in design and operation from that shown herein. In many such uses of this simple forni of inusic-desk-support, the weight of the fall-board or the method of hinging it contributed the only means for holding the support to keep the music-desk firmly positioned against the weight or leaning pressure of music-books of any considerable size.

As shown in Fig. 1, a pair of kicker-levers 33 and 34 are provided for supporting the music-desk at its opposite sides, each lever being pivoted between its ends upon a rela.- tively fixed part of the instrument,-in this instance the respective side of the piano casing. Both levers are alike and a description of one will therefore suffice. The lever 33 is formed of a round rod, flattened at a point intermediate its ends and pivoted at such point upon a screw 35, which transfixes the lever and holds it in position so that the upper arm 36 thereof will engage the inner face of the music-,desk 11 and the lower arm 37 thereof will be engaged by the rearward end of the socket-member 27. The lower arm of the lever is bent, as shown at 38 and 39, to provide a locking shoulder 40 which co-operates with an abutment 41 secured to the rearward face of the vertical board 20.

Vith this construction, when the fallboard 10 is in the fully open, pushed back position shown in Fig. 2, the shoulder 40 will be in engagement with the abutment 41, the abutment resting beneath and in engagementl with the then substantially horizontally positioned portion of the lever 33 between the bends 38 and 39, preventing the downward swinging of such portion and thus firmly locking the lower arm 37 against forward movement. The upper arm 36 of the lever is thus firmly held in its forwardly swung position, supporting the music-desk in its forwardly swung position. lVlien the fall-board is in the closed position shown in Fig. 3, the section 14 thereof will be in its forward position upon the guides 17, the abutment 41 will likewise be forward of and free from engagement with the shoulder 40, and the upper panel which forms the music-desk 11 will be permitted to occupy its normally vertical position, the kickerlever 33 being free to swing so that the lower arm 37 thereof will rest against the rearward end of the socket-member 27.

The operation of the parts described are as follows:

Then it is desired to remove the fall4 board from the instrument, the longer arm of the latch-lever 30 should be moved rear` wardly to free the point of the lever from engagement with the under side or the respective guide 17, and the fall-board will be free to be lifted bodily from the guides. lt will be observed that the arms 22 and 23 are not attached to their respective co-operating socket-members 2T and 2S. rllie liifting of the section lll from the guides l? simply lifts the attached socket-members oil from the ends ot' the arms and, iii replacing the fall-board, it is only necessary to see that the socket-members are slipped over the ends ot the upstanding arms and tl at the late-l-i-Il-e-ver is moved forwardly into locking position, as shown iii Fig. In order to facilitate this slipping ol' the socket-ineinbers over the ends'ot the upstaiiding arins, stop-blocks 42 4are provided for the arms to support them conveniently in forwardly swung position.

In opening the fall-board, the 'forward section lBlis turned upon the hinge l5, over and back upon the top of the rearward section le, fand the sections thus folded are then pushed rearwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2, at which point the rearward movementis stopped by the abutment of the cushion-members 19 against their respective stop-pins 18. In this rearward movement of the fall-board, the rearward section lLl thereof slides along upon the guides 17, and the socket-members 27 and rock their respective rock-shajtt-arnis 22 and 23 and push the lower arms 3? of their respective kickerlevers 33 and 3l rearwardly. Since the two arms 22 and 23 are lined upon the rock-shalt 2l, they must rock together and the two socket-nieii'ibers `2T and 28, with which they respectively co-opeiiate, must like vise move together. This siiiiiiltaneoiis movement oit the socket-members results in a parallel movement oil the tall-board, to which they are secured, and a correspondingly siiiiiiltaneons .swinging ,of the two kicker-levers and 84, against the lower end parts o" which they inipinge. As the two kickerleveis .are thus simultaneously swung about their pivotal points ,35, the upper end parts of the upper 'arms 36 tliereot piish 'fort-Jara upon the rearward tace of .the music-desk 'll Aand it i-s swung Yforwardly upon its pivots 32 into its music-supporting position, which point all of the parts will occupy their several positions as shown in Fig. As the lower arms 37 ofthe two kickerlevers 33 and Sil are pushed rearwardly by the respective socket-members 2? anfl 28, 'the shoulders 40 are swung rearwardly and upwardly about the pivotal points until at the end of .suoli swinging, the portions ot die levers 38 and Se between the bendsSS and 39 have assumed a substantially horizontal position. During this rearward and upward swinging oi the shoulders lll), the reaward movement of the fall-board l() pushes nient oi" Lthe 'tall-boa 'f be suopoi'ted unen i ie abiil'inents ll and li n the two lacher-levers will nave been moved out oii Contact with the socket-niembers 2i aiu1l 2S, and the iiiusicdesk ll will consequently be locked iii its lforwardly swi iiiiisic-siionorting position. Forward oreiiient oi the ill-board, iiroiii the open position slioi'ii in Fig. 2, withdraws the abiitiiieiits ll, ant the opera-- tion oi the several parts will obviously be the reverse troni that just described.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire 'to secure by Letters Pa ent or' the United ates is:

l. rllie coiiihinatioii, with the key-traine, key-bed, and tall-board oi a piano, ot means for mounting said Yi'all-boar-d for inward and outward i i'allel motion above said keyiraine, comprising a rock-shaft arranged to efid trai ersely beneath said key-trame below the ul ier siii-'face of said key-bed and having a pair et upwardly extending arms, one a cach end oli said rock-shaft beyond the side liiiiits oi said key-:Siaine and connected with said rail-board, whereby said rock-shaft aid the said upwardly extending arms tliereoi do not interfere with the removal of said key-traine.

The combination, with the key-traine, lier-bedv and fall-board of a piano, of means for inoiintin.' said rail-board `for inward and outward parallel motion above said keyiranie, "i

pn aiisversely beneath said key-traine below 'the u peer surface oic said key-bed and t raid rock-shaft beyond key-traine and con- 'lv lifted a vay from ,f-iraine iiay be rerence therewith by upwardly extending boei-t and iiiiisic-desk con- 'fiig iiall-borrd mounted for inwarr` twa d movement, a musicdesk nien ted for inward and outward iiioveii'ient, and ineens wliereby inward movement ott' said tall-board will cause outvard movement ol said music-desk and will lock s l music-desk iii its oiiter position: said means comprising a pivotally mounted rock-aim acting on said music-desk and havor upwardly er. ending ariiis,

ing a shoulder thereon, and said fall-board being' provided with an abutment movable ur l oath and Qaging said shoulder to hold said rocl-z-arnL in position to hold said music-desk in its outer position.

4. A piano fall-board and music-desk construction comliirising a fall-board mounted for inward and outward movement, a music-desk mounted for .inward and outward movement, and means whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause outward movement of said music-desk and will lock said music-desk in its enter position; said means comprising a pivotally mounted rock-arm acting on said music-desk and having a bend therein underneath which said fall-board moves and with which it engages to hold said rock-arm in position to hold said music-desk in its outer position.

5. A piano fall-board and music-desk construction comprising a fall-board mounted for inward and outward movement, a musicdesk mounted for inward and outward movement, and means whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause outward movement of said music-desk and will lock said music-desk in its outer position; said means comprising a member controlled by the movement of said fall-board and having a shoulder thereon, and said fall-board being provided with an abutment movable underneath and engaging said shoulder to hold said member in position to hold said music-desk in its outer position.

6. A piano fall-board and music-desk construction comprising a fall-board mounted for inward and outward movement, a musicdesk mounted-for inward and outward movement, and means whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause outward movement of said music-desk and will lock said music-desk in its outer position; said means comprising a member actuated by the movement of said fall-board and having a bend therein underneath which said fall-board moves and with which it engages to hold said member in position to hold said musicdesk in its outer position.

7. The'combination, with the keys, keybed, and fall-board of a piano, of means for mounting said fall-board for inward and outward parallel motion above said keys, comprising a. rock-shaft arranged to extend transversely beneath. said keys below the upper surface of said key-bed and having a pair of upwardly extending arms, one at each end of said rock-shaft beyond the range of said keys and connected with said fallboard, whereby said rock-shaft and the said upwardly extending arms thereof do not interfere with the bodily removal of the entire range of said keys.

S. The combination, with the keys, keybed. and fall-board of a piano, of means for mounting said fall-board for inward and outward parallel motion above said keys, comprising a rock-shaft arranged to extend transversely beneath said keys below the upper surface of said key-bed and having a pair of upwardly extending arms, one at each end of said rock-shaft beyond the ranve of said keys and connected with said fallboard, said fall-board being provided with sockets freely receiving the upper ends of said arms; whereby the fall-board may be readily lifted away from said arms and the entire range of said keys may be bodily removed free from interference therewith by said rock-shaft and the upwardly extending arms thereof.

t). A piano fall-board and music-desk construction comprising a fall-board mounted for inward and outward movement, a musicdesk mounted for inward and outward movement, and means whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause outward movement of said music-desk and will lock said music-desk in its outer position; said means comprising a rock-arm pivotally supported between its ends to 'swing vertically, the upper end-part thereof acting directly upon said music-desk and the lower end-part thereof engaging with said fall-board, 'such lower end-part of said rock-arm being provided with a shoulder, and said fall-board being provided with an abutment movable underneath and cooperating with said shoulder to hold said rock-arm in position to hold said music-desk in its outer position.

l0. A piano fall-board and music-desk construction comprising a fall-board mounted for inward and outward movement, a music-desk mounted for inward and outward movement, and means whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause outward movement of said music-desk and will lock said music-desk in its outer position; said means comprising a rock-arm pivotally supported between its ends to swing vertically, the upper end-part thereof act-- ing directly upon said music-desk and the lower end-part thereof engaging with said fall-board, such lower end-part of lsaid rockarm having a bend therein underneath which said fall-board moves and with which it cooperates to hold said rock-arm in position to hold said music-desk in its outer position.

11. A piano fall-board and music-desk construction comprising a fall-board mounted for inward and outward movement, a music-desk mounted for inward and outward movement, and means whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause outward movement of said musicdesk and will lock said music-desk in its outxr position; said means comprising a pair of pivotally mounted rockarnis acting individually on said musicdesk at the right and left side-parts thereof, each of said rock-arms having a shoulder thereon, and means for guiding said fallboard whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause the respective endparts thereof to be simultaneously moved into engagement with said shoulders to hold each of said rock-arms in posit-ion to hold said music-desk firmly in its outer position.

12. A piano fall-board and music-desk construction comprising' a fall-board mounted for inward and outward movement, music-desk mounted for inward and outward movement, and means whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause outward movement of said music-desir and will lock said music-desk in its outer position; said means comprising a pair of pivotally mounted rock-arms acting individually on said music-desk at the right and left sideparts thereof, each of said roch-arms having a bend therein, and 'said fall-board being provided with an abutment movable into engagement with the bend in each of said rock-arms and with means for guiding said fall-board, whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause said abutments to simultaneously move into engagement with 'he bends in the respective rock-arms and co-operate therewith to hold said roclearms in position to hold said music-desk firmly in its outer position.

13. The combination, with the hey-bed and frame of a piano, of a fall-board; means for mounting` said fall-board for inward and outward parallel movement, comprising a rock-shaft below the upper surface of said hey-bed having,` a pair of upwardly entending arms, one at each end thereof, connected with said fall-board; a music-desk mounted for inward and outward movement; and means whereby inward movement -of said fall-board will cause outward movement` of said music-desk and will lock said musicdesk in its outer position, the last said means comprising a pair of rock-arms pivot/ally mounted upon opposite sides of said frame to act individually on said musie-desk at the right and left Sideparts thereof, each of said roch-arms having a shoulder thereon; whereby, upon inward movement of said fallboard, the respective end-parts thereof will be simultaneously moved into engagement witl said shoulr ers to hold each of said rocleams in position to hold said musicdesk firmly in its outer position.

ld. The combination, with the hey-bed and frame of a. piano, of a fallboard; means for mounting said fall board for inward and outward parallel movement, comprising a rock-shaft below the upper surface of said key-bed having a pair of upwardly extending arms, one at each end thereof, connected with 'said fall-board; a music-desk mounted for inward and outward movement; and means whereby inward movement of said fallboard will cause outward movement of said musicwleslr and will loch said music-desk in its outer position, the last said means eomprising a pair of roch-arms pivotally mounted upon opposite sides of said frame to act individually on said music-desk at the right and left side-parts thereof, each of said roch-arms having a bend therein, and said fall-board being' provided with an abutment movable into engagement with the bend in each of said reelearms; whereby inward movement of said fall-board will cause said abutments to simultaneously move into engagement with the bends in the respective roch-arms and co-operate therewith to hold said roch-arms in position to hold said music-desk firmly in its outer position.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names.

THURE A. JGl-ANSON. FRANCIS C. SOCIN.

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